Silverado Workforce Press ReleaseOlder People Key in Caregiver Workforce
San Juan Capistrano, CA, January 2, 2008 -
Contact:
Mark Mostow
V.P. Sales & Marketing
Silverado Senior Living
949-240-7200
Older People Caring for Elders: Key Solution to Caregiver Shortage
Wanda Harrison says she feels needed.
Christine Oriero has gone from shy to outgoing.
For Apolonia Prasatik, it's about enjoying getting up in the morning.
They're talking about their jobs caring for memory-impaired elderly and something links the trio besides the nature of what they do: Each is of retirement age herself and works in senior care for reasons that go beyond a paycheck. The three women illustrate what experts say will be an increasingly important solution to America's looming caregiver shortage: older workers.
Harrison, Oriero, and Prasatik work at assisted living communities for those with Alzheimer's and other memory-impairing diseases operated by Silverado Senior Living. People over 55 currently represent about 12-percent of the company's 1800-person workforce. Silverado Senior Living president and CEO Loren Shook says he expects the percentage to grow.
"As a society, we're already seeing that baby-boomers aren't planning the kind of retirement that is considered traditional," Shook said. "Many will likely continue to work and I believe a significant number of them will choose to care for seniors. Reasons include the fulfilling nature of the work, the flexibility of schedules, and access to health benefits."
Dr. Donna Benton is director of the Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center, which is part of the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California. She said: "This new development is a natural extension of people living longer and healthier lives. When older people become caregivers, they find that it enriches their own lives with purpose and perspective."
Nearly 70-percent of employed people between the ages of 50 and 70 who the AARP surveyed in 2003 said they expected to work at least part-time in retirement. Nursing and health services were among the top job categories that those who had never retired envisioned selecting. Staying mentally active and feeling productive and useful were cited just behind the need for money and health benefits as the reasons to work in retirement.
Sixty-six-year-old Wanda Harrison, who's the great-grandmother of five, works one day a week as an activities assistant at Silverado Senior Living - The Woodlands in The Woodlands, Tex. She had been retired for six months from her career as a caregiver to the mentally disabled when she decided to go back to work not only to earn money, but "because I wanted to make a difference. When I come in the door, the residents' faces light up and that makes me feel good. I feel needed."
Christine Oriero, 62, was an airline customer service representative before she joined Silverado Senior Living - San Juan Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., where she's a full-time activities assistant. "Leading activities for the residents has made me a different person. I was quiet and shy, and this has given me so much confidence and personal growth," Oriero said.
Apolonia Prasatik, who is 62 and a grandmother of five, has no plans to retire from her long-time career in caregiving. Prasatik, a full-time lead aide at Silverado Senior Living - Cypresswood in Houston, Tex., says, "I enjoy going to work each day. I joke with the residents and we dance and sing together. It makes me feel good."
Demand for nursing aides is expected to grow by 22-percent by 2014 and the need for home health aides could increase by as much as 56-percent, according to a study by the International Longevity Center-USA. The center calls the nation's caregiver shortage "a looming crisis." Silverado's Loren Shook says senior care employers will help solve the challenge by creating workplaces that cater to the interests and needs of older workers.
"I think we will see the private sector doing what it takes to attract these quality employees, by making sure that schedules are as flexible as possible, that the employees can participate in health care plans, and most importantly, that these workers have purpose and meaning in their work."
Dr. Benton with the Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center said: "The private sector will be a big part of this, because it has the resources to attract and manage more paid and volunteer caregivers."
The non-profit Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center, funded partially by the California Department of Mental Health, is part of a statewide system of regional resource centers that serve families and caregivers of adults with brain impairments.
Silverado Senior Living, based in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., operates 16 assisted living communities for the memory impaired in California, Texas, and Utah. The company also provides home care and care management through its five Silverado at Home locations as well as hospice care through its six Silverado Hospice offices. The company's web site is www.Silveradosenior.com.
